The Volkswagen Jetta car is an automobile produced by German automaker Volkswagen since 1979. Positioned to fill an upscale saloon/sedan niche above the firm's compact/small family car Golf offering, it has been known over its five generations variously as the Atlantic, Bora, City Jetta, Fox, GLI, Sagitar, or Vento. The name Jetta was derived from the Jet stream, continuing Volkswagen's tradition of naming cars for various winds. The model's sedan body style was developed in partial response to Volkswagen's observation that the North American market preferred that traditional configuration over the Golf's then unconventional hatchback layout. The new saloon was marketed as a somewhat more luxurious car than its tailgated brethren, with nicer interior trim and a higher price. This proved to be wise on Volkswagen's part, as the Jetta became the best-selling European car in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Over the years, the car has been offered in two and four-door sedan and five-door station wagon variants. As of 2005, over 6.6 million cars have been sold worldwide, over one-third in the United States alone. Since the original version in 1980, the car has grown in size and power with each successive generation.
